The Tales and Travels of Taylor Made PA – How Holiday Travel Has Changed
Published 18.11.2022
Hello!
Starting off in Travel
It has been over 30-years since I first became a Travel Agent as a naive 17-year old on her summer break from college.
My dream was to teach people to ride horses. And love my passion for ponies as much as I did.
But thinks change. And in the Summer of 1991 I walked into WH Smith Travel for the first time to start work. A new passion was born. I still love my ponies though.
And I set out to send people on their perfect holiday.
How we use to book holidays
Back in the early 90s how holiday travel was booked was very different. Remember this is pre Internet!
I joined Travel in the aftermath of the ILG Holiday Group collapse. One of, if not, the largest of the UK Tour Operators with household names like Intasun, going overnight.
It left us with the Big 6:
Thomson
Thomas Cook
Sunworld (later JMC)
Airtours
Falcon (now First Choice)
Cosmos
and well as their subsidery brands. Then a host of smaller, Specialist or Boutique brands.
But to choose a holiday, you generally looked a brochure (or 6). Chose the destination. And the hotel you liked. Then it would tell you where you could fly from and on what day. Whether your flight incurred a surcharge. AND how long you could go for.
Holidays were generally 7 or 14 nights. (Nights people, not days!). Then some key destinations flew twice a week so you could in selected hotels have 10 or 11 nights.
In winter you could have long stays for 28 nights or even 42 nights. Mainly aimed at the 55 plus market with brands like Thomson Young at Heart. Yes really!
Tailor Made holidays were mainly just long haul destinations. Or City breaks. Which were really one of the only shorter stay options. Except for Panorama Holidays who had short breaks to Tunisia. I did a 4 night stay to Tunisia myself with them.
When you could book
Booking Summer Holidays was generally done from September or October of the year before. But gradually the Tour Operators began releasing early to catch out their competition. And getting the early bookings and free child places. And within a few years the Summer Season for the following year were going on Sale as the previous Summer season started around April or May.
And because holidays were based on pre chartered flights. Scheduled for specific days by specific operators. Filling space to make the flight cost effective. And avoid a cancellation and amalgamation of flights. A culture of booking late to get a bargain was grown.
“Late Deals” were normally “allocated on arrival”. You knew the route. Sometimes the resort. And the star rating and board basis. The rest you left down to the Tour Operator.
They could be fantastic! You really could get the most amazing bargain. But sometimes. Well. They weren’t so great. I did a “Twenties” holiday to Zante. The accommodation was awful! But the Taverna next door was incredible. We ate there 3 times a day! And it was just set back from the Beach.
Booking Holiday Travel now
But holidays now are managed so differently. Much down to the Internet. And so many of the Tour Operators have gone. Thomson, First Choice and Tui are all under the TUI brand. Thomas Cook has gone. And Cosmos now just have their Touring brand.
Low Cost Airlines have been created and boomed. Which between these and the internet has shaped the way we book travel today.
The big two “packaged” tour operators I now use are Jet 2 Holidays and Classic Packaged Holidays. Neither existed in the 90’s but are now the market leaders.
Holidays are packaged in what is called Dynamically. This is where the Tour Operator pulls from any available flight and pairs it with any contracted hotel within the area of the flight destination. You can choose whether to have group or private transfers. Or maybe car hire. But with all this flexibility you still get ATOL protection. And the benefit and service of an ABTA bonded Travel Agent.
But this also means you can go to almost anywhere for any duration as flights can be mixed and matched to allow for shorter or odd durations. You only have 5 or 6 nights. Not a problem. You want 12 nights. That’s ok.
Jet 2 Holidays are the closest to the old traditional style of package holiday. All holidays come with luggage and transfers as standard. But they have more regular flights and so do allow for not just standard durations to some destinations. And you can upgrade or remove transfers. And the have a fantastic Luxury brand too.
When to book now
But with the rise of low cost airlines. And dynamic packaging comes one other change. Very few late deals.
Late Deals relied on empty seats that need to be filled. And operators that had committed to capacities and needed to make something better than nothing.
But low cost flights work the other way around. They sell cheap on launch. Generally 9 months before. And get more expensive as the the seats are sold. They sell so many at each price and then rise to the next fare.
This means that holiday prices will generally now rise closer to travel. Due to the cost of the airfare.
Specialist Operators
And with fewer of the “big” operators. It means we have a great selection of specialist operators to choose from. Those that specialise in Cities. In specific destinations. In Touring. In Luxury. In Cruising.
They might offer a more specialised. More personal service sometimes. They may have a more personal, in-depth knowledge. As a Travel Agent. We love to travel and we have knowledge from years of booking others. But we haven’t sadly, been everywhere. Yet! So working with teams that focus on specialist areas can be hugely beneficial.
So, are you ready to book your next Holiday?
Email me on jules.taylor@premier-travel.co.uk or book in a time to talk here.
Until next time…
Jules x
